Vigilante movies: Taking matters into one's own hands

Cause for revenge: Gerard Butler's Clyde Shelton watches helplessly as his wife and little girl are raped and murdered during a home invasion. Related: Vigilante films, an American tradition

Cause for revenge: Gerard Butler's Clyde Shelton watches helplessly as his wife and little girl are raped and murdered during a home invasion. Related: Vigilante films, an American tradition (John Baer / Overture Films)

Cause for revenge: Don Siegel's "Dirty Harry," starring Clint Eastwood as a rogue San Francisco cop on the trail of a serial killer, was attacked by critics who saw it as a reactionary fantasy (Pauline Kael called it "fascist medievalism"). Frustrated by the red tape of the legal system, Harry is forced to go it alone in bringing the serial killer to justice.

Cause for revenge: Don Siegel's "Dirty Harry," starring Clint Eastwood as a rogue San Francisco cop on the trail of a serial killer, was attacked by critics who saw it as a reactionary fantasy (Pauline Kael called it "fascist medievalism"). Frustrated by the red tape of the legal system, Harry is forced to go it alone in bringing the serial killer to justice. (Warner Bros.)